'Clean Air Champions' Honored at New Yankee Stadium

New York State Department of Transportation to Recognize Local Organizations
for Clean Air Efforts

BRONX, N.Y., June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Clean Air NY, an initiative sponsored by
the New York State Department of Transportation in support of downstate New
York air quality efforts, will honor local businesses today at the New York
Business and Energy Expo at the new Yankee Stadium. The six New York City
Clean Air Champions were chosen for their commitment to improving air quality
by reducing car trips by their employees. Automobile exhaust is a major
contributor to ozone and particle pollution.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090624/NE37166LOGO )

The awards ceremony follows last week's "Commit to Cleaner Air Week," which
was launched to encourage action against poor air quality in New York.
According to the American Lung Association, 65 percent of New York State
residents live in counties where air pollution levels endanger lives.

Organizations receiving recognition as Clean Air Champions include:

-- New York Methodist Hospital, for convincing over 100 employees who
drove
to work to switch to mass transit by providing free metro cards.
-- Jewish Home Lifecare (Manhattan branch), for its biannual Leave Your
Car
at Home Day and participation in NuRide, an incentive-based rideshare
network.
-- SH&E, for increasing its employee transit subsidy to $50/month.
-- CommuterLink, for its Bike-to-Work and Telework Programs.
-- Westchester Square Physical Therapy and Local 300 (Flushing branch),
for
their pre-tax transit benefit program and as well as their alternative
transportation fairs, held to assist employees in finding ways to work
that are more environmentally friendly and economical than driving.

-- United Nations Federal Credit Union, who have used their relocation to
Queens as an opportunity to promote mass transit through employee
benefits.

The New York Business and Energy Expo is sponsored by the Bronx Chamber of
Commerce and features Governor David A. Paterson as the Keynote Speaker.

Clean Air Champions in other downstate regions include: IBM, Northern
Westchester Hospital, Verizon, Amalgamated Life Insurance Company, Nokia,
Inc., BioMed Reality Trust, Inc., Jewish Home Lifecare (all Lower Hudson
Valley) and Wales-Darby, Inc., Nassau County, Adelphi University, BAE Systems,
Clever Devices, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. and Winthrop-University
Hospital (all Long Island).

About Clean Air NY

Clean Air NY is an initiative sponsored by the New York State Department of
Transportation in support of regional air quality efforts. Clean Air NY's
network of individuals and businesses believes that every person has the power
to help make New York's air healthier and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that
contribute to climate change. Clean Air NY educates the public on simple
everyday changes that reduce driving and provides real-time updates on Air
Quality Action Days via text messaging, e-mail and media notifications. To
learn more, visit CleanAirNY.org.

SOURCE New York State Department of Transportation

Amanda Moss of Clean Air NY, +1-202-862-1226, amoss@cleanairny.org